1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in rural mailboxes and, more particularly, to an improved closure for rural mailboxes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the years, there have been a variety of attempts to improve the quality of rural mailboxes, particularly those which are used in the more northerly climates and thereby subject to a greater temperature variation as well as the rigors of ice and snow. Typical of mailbox constructions which have been known to the prior art are those disclosed in the U.S. patents to Beggs, U.S. Pat. No. 2,267,072 issued Dec. 23, 1941, and to Dickins, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,668, issued Sept. 28, 1965. Each of these patents discloses a door hinged about its base and an appropriate handle to enable the door to swing downwardly to an open position, then upwardly to be returned to a closed position. In the patent to Cole, U.S. Pat. No. 1,483,077 issued Feb. 12, 1924, a mailbox is disclosed which is provided with a carriage moveable between an extended position for receiving or removal of mail and a retracted position. In the course of the movement of the carriage, a door D swings upwardly about an upper hinge to an open position as the carriage is extended and, similarly, swings downwardly to a closed position as the carriage is retracted.
Still another mailbox construction is disclosed in the patent to Earle, U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,344, issued Apr. 29, 1975. In Earle, a mailbox 10 employs a door 23 which is generally in the form of a butterfly valve for receiving, although for not discharging, mail. The mail is subsequently retrieved via another door 32.
The patent to Ross, U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,984, issued Aug. 18, 1964, discloses a detachable weather shield for an open ended newspaper box 10. As presented in the patent, the weather shield, which is designed for attachment in some fashion to an open end of the box, is provided with a gate 20 integral with a bight 18 of the shield. The gate 20 is fabricated of a flexible material and suspended from the bight 18 at some distance from the end of the box 10 when the shield is in its final position. Being resilient, the gate is said to be swingable to allow insertion or removal of a newspaper.
With proper deference being given to the aforesaid patents, each of which, on its face, disclosed advances in the state-of-the-art of mailbox construction and closure devices therefor, when each respective patent was granted, nonetheless, the present invention is deemed to be a considerable improvement over such known devices. Indeed, it was with recognition of the need and of the state of the prior art that the present invention was conceived and has now been reduced to practice.